The 2014 Iceman marked the 25th year for this historic race. This year was a special one for all 6000 racers who traveled to the area. With the race being a week later this year the weather was on everyone mind. Was there going to be snow or will it be like the past when its been fairly nice weather? Well mother nature had something special for the 25th year. All week the weather predictions keep changing and everyone was preparing for the worst or at least they thought. When sitting in my hotel room in Kalkaska the night before I looked outside to find it snowing. Was this going to be a legit Iceman this year? I was praying for snow the entire week. The little dusting of snow was quickly followed by rain that night and the all race day
The morning of the race I felt fairly relaxed. In the past I would be so nervous it would make me sick but this year was different and I didn't know how that was going to play out. After making eggs on my flat top in the hotel room, we got everything packed up and headed to a parking spot that I went to last year to get everything ready and warmed up. I sat on my trainer for about 10 minutes then got the final prep done with my riding gear to make sure I would stay some what dry. I then jumped back on the trainer for another 10 minutes to keep the legs loose. During this warm up time a reporter from the Record Eagle out of Traverse City was taking pictures and asking question about the race. Normally I would prefer to listen to music and get into the "zone" but this guy was friendly and I was happy to help him out. On my warm up I felt fairly relaxed. There was a calming feeling in the air.
Sitting in staging the nerves started to come and I was finally in the zone I was wanting to be in. It was in the low 30's, windy, and raining steadily and increasing as time went on. This year I was in wave 4. As the race took off everyone was fighting to stay out of the wind but without getting the splash from other riders. The opening roll out was very cold. I fought my way to the top 4 and was the first one to hit the dirt. Once we get the first couple of k done in the woods the pack shrunk to 3 riders and we worked off each other to fight the wind. I had my strengths in the singletrack so I took the lead during those sections when I could and sat in the draft in the other sections. Once the pack started to catch the first few waves we made quick work of them and made passes in places that shouldn't have been passing lines. Thankfully I was comfortable riding in the slop and I took some risk in the tight sections and on the descents. The small 3 rider pack stuck together for about half the race but once traffic became a problem I found myself in front of the pack and just started working off others and passing people when I could. I didn't want to settle into a pace that wasn't fast enough. My bike computer didn't work the entire race so I was unsure of the pace I was riding at. I felt good and was riding smooth. I took a huge risk that ended up biting me in the last 10k of the race. My hands were so cold and muddy that it was hard to reach back and grab gels or even water from the bike. I pulled a rookie move and didn't take in anything other than grabbing the water bottle 3 times. Every aid station was packed with slower riders so I just flew through these sections. The last 10k of the course is the most challenging parts of the course. There are some famous hill in this last section of the course and the include Anita's and the Icebreaker. I blew up hard after Anita's and really tried my best to ride it in to the finish. I had a few chances to push but it wasn't anything to make up time I was loosing. I struggled with the last 2k just worked to get to the finish in one piece. I crossed the finish with a time of 2:27:15. I was not happy at all with this but I finished.
I ended up finishing 15th in the Men's 19-24 age group. This was my best placing in the 3 years I have done this event. So on paper my results looked OK but the reality is that I rode like a rookie and I pulled a huge risk that probably cost me a top 10. On the plus side, I finished. My bike lasted the muddiest conditions I have ever raced a bicycle in. A lot of top riders had to DNF or fix the problem on the side of the trail and crossed the line with horrific times. The only bike problem I had was a very common problem for everyone and that was loosing my rear brakes within the first 10-15k of the race. I can't be to upset with my actual time because the course was so nasty and everyone had fairly bad times this year. The logging sections that everyone dreaded was a single file mess that looked like a swamp and not a bike trail. For me there are some mixed emotions about the entire event. I'm happy with the placing but disappointed with how I actually rode. I'm happy that the 2014 mountain bike season is done and I can walk away from what had been a very rough season in one piece and with a decent result. Two months ago I would have questioned the ability to get a top 15. Even after the warm up race at Peak2Peak I was questioning my fitness. So to finish the season like this is something I can live with. I will be back again for 2015 for another shot at it. 2014 was a huge learning year and I'm excited for 2015. Now it's time to spend time off the bike and transition to something else that I have kept quiet for some time. You can find the answer to this when I do a write up on the Entire 2014 Season.
I couldn't have done any of this if it wasn't for the support of some amazing people in my life. It has been a roller coaster of a year and Iceman is always a race that people bring their A game to. I had a lot of great people pushing me and encouraging me to keep pushing when things seemed like they were done. I couldn't thank you all enough for the support and love.
Thank you all for everything
Mom and Dad
Squeak
Buddy Kurjiaka
Breakaway Bicycles of Muskegon
Hammer Nutrition
ESI Grips (esigrips.com)
Spy Optics
Schwalbe Tires
Crank Brothers
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